COVID-19 - Truro BID recognise this is a challenging time for businesses and we want to support you how we can.

Update on 19 January

On 4 January, the Government announced another new national lockdown in response to the rise in coronavirus cases, including in Cornwall.

Whilst some businesses have been unable to fully operate since Cornwall moved to tier 3, the full list of businesses now required to close is detailed in the Government guidance and includes:
• non-essential retail (venues can continue to operate click-and-collect).
• personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons.
• hospitality venues with the exception of providing food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway.
• entertainment venues such as cinemas, museums, bowling alleys.

The Chancellor has announced that businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000. This will be administered by Cornwall Council and details of how to apply will be available on their COVID Business Support page.

Cornwall Council has received Government confirmation for new discretionary grants called the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme. This is for businesses who are not eligible for other forms of financial support but have been forced to close or are severely impacted during lockdown 3.0 from 5 January.

More details of this Additional Restrictions Grant scheme and the application form on who will be eligible will be available from Wednesday 20 January at: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/businesssupportgrant

As with previous lockdowns, we'll keep you informed of how to access this grant and any other support that may be available.

Visit Truro has been updating their takeaway listings on www.visittruro.org.uk. They have also listing details of businesses that are offering online or click and collect services. Truro businesses, to be added please email them on visittruro@truro.gov.uk.

Road Closures cease due to third lockdown

With non-essential shops and personal care facilities having to close, the temporary road closures put in place to support Covid-19 restrictions and social distancing will cease until further notice. The Truro Partnership (Truro City Council, Visit Truro and Truro BID) who, along with Cornwall Council, put in place the road closures will continue to work together to support businesses and residents during the latest lockdown.

For details of Truro BID activities to support business during the first lockdown, and links to other COVID business support, see the Coronavirus page.

To see how we supported businesses during the first reopening June to November see our reopening phase page.

Truro BID activities to support businesses and Truro's reopening in December

When Truro reopened from the second Lockdown, along with our partners at Visit Truro and Truro City Council we reinstated the social distancing measures, including road closures at peak times in main streets, to give a traffic-free environment and space to shop.

We worked with our partners at Visit Truro to promote these social distancing measures and 'Space to Shop' in Truro with an advertising campaign, including on Heart FM and the backs of buses in December.

We also worked with Visit Truro to promote the Christmas activities and initiatives in Truro that we delivered for 2020 via social media, press releases, posters and flyers. This included:

Late night shopping - where we funded the extensions to the road closures giving space to shop.
Projecting large illuminated visuals on the Tui building and Arts Café for Wednesday late night shopping.
Organising and part-funding street entertainment on Saturdays and Wednesdays, including stilt walkers from Poyka Entertainment (funded by Tyller A Nerth) and Swamp Circus (Truro BID funded and image above).
Engaging with businesses to offer illuminated reindeer, resulting in the Illuminated Reindeer trail in over 80 shop windows which was promoted on Visit Truro.
Helping fund Coppice Theatre's Jack's Frosty Stories walkabout show and working with them on logistics.
Delivering New Christmas Lights - Additional Angels light motifs in the city centre funded by Truro's Town Crier Lionel Knights, new lights at Lemon St Market, along with the new Cathedral Light installation on Trafalgar roundabout funded by the Truro Town Fund.

Following our press releases we gained media coverage for Truro and Late Night Shopping on BBC spotlight.

We also undertook other initiatives to support businesses and Truro, which included:

Refreshing and creating extra social distancing floor markings outside businesses to help manage queues.
Placing street signs directing pedestrians to shops in secondary areas, Lemon St Market and Pannier Market.
Along with Truro City Council refreshing the public realm 'keep left' signs to support social distancing.
Funding additional security patrols (two people) for Wednesdays and Saturdays during road closure times.
Having conversations about additional police cover with the MP (further meeting scheduled in January).
Worked with GMH Commercial and Miller Commercial to install nativity scenes in the windows of the former Laura Ashley Premises made by members of the Truro Baptist Church and Truro Methodist Church
Facilitating the shadow play, Grasp the Nettle organised by Tyller A Nerth in December, by suggesting use of the United Response premises in Princes Street.
Working with Freedom Signs, The Mayor Of Truro and Cornwall Council on the new signage in Old Bridge Street car park (on the bin store) which directs pedestrians to the independent businesses in St Mary's Mews and beyond. This was funded from section 106 money.
Working with letting agents to get permission to wrap empty premises resulting in the former Hotter Shoes premises on Pydar St being wrapped in colourful vinyl stickers, directing people to VisitTruro.org.uk - funded using section 106 monies.
Working to get all of Truro's public toilets reopened for the festive period.

During the second national Lockdown we worked with our partners at Visit Truro to support businesses still able to trade.

Visit Truro promoted the their webpages on Facebook @visittruro which listed:

Restaurants & cafes offering a takeaway/delivery service
What's in the Window - Truro Shops offering online or click & collect goods.
November Lockdown - Essential Information in Truro (including shops selling food).

We also celebrated Truro via our Virtual Christmas Lights Switch-on film, streamed on Pirate FM's Facebook page on 18 November generating nearly 28k views. Version available on YouTube too.

What we do...

Truro BID works with Visit Truro and aims to position Truro as a leading destination for tourism, business, and local people by creating a vibrant, well connected, well marketed and well-presented great little city.

We successfully renewed for a third term with the strongest mandate to date in 2017. Prior to COVID the Truro BID team were delivering projects within 4 key project themes detailed below; Events, Environment, Marketing and Business.

A flavour of the projects delivered by Truro BID during the past 10 years include:

the annual city centre Christmas lighting scheme with a supporting 6 week programme of festive events.
annual marketing campaigns highlighting the cities retail and tourism offer.
the City centre signage and wayfinding system.
financial contributions to Truro City Council leading to award winning summer floral displays.